Health insurance for pets a growing industry

Maria DeSantis would do anything to protect Tommy and Brutus. So she bought health insurance for her two dogs to cover trips to the veterinarian.

Stephanie Bergeron

Maria DeSantis would do anything to protect Tommy and Brutus.

So she bought health insurance for her two dogs to cover trips to the veterinarian.

“When I got a dog of my own, I realized they do get sick and they may need an X-ray from time to time,” DeSantis said.

So instead of dishing out thousands of dollars on costly medical procedures, DeSantis enrolled in Veterinary Pet Insurance, which, for a little more than $300 a year plus co-pays, covers her dogs and their ailments. Last year, DeSantis said, she got back $400 of the $700 she spent on vet bills.

“They’re my kids,” she said. “If they get sick I want to be able to take them somewhere to get looked at and not have to worry: Am I going to have to pay $2,000 for this?”

An operation for gastric torsion, or bloat, runs at about $5,000, and according to the Veterinary Pet Insurance Web site, about $2,700 of that can be reimbursed. Surgery to remove a cancerous tumor could cost $1,372, of which Veterinary Pet Insurance would reimburse about $1,000.

DeSantis is one of an increasing number of people who are taking out insurance plans on their pets.

“Pets are integral parts of the family,” said Brian Iannessa, a spokesman for the company. “People are treating them as such and extending medical coverage to them like their own children.”

Other insurance companies include PetsBest, PetCare and Purina Pet Insurance. At Veterinary Pet Insurance, most household pets are covered, from chinchillas to iguanas, frogs and even potbelly pigs. Like people insurance, pet insurance premiums depend on the age of the pet and how extensive the plan is. Plans average $30 a month, said Iannessa.

Veterinarian Linda Schneider said only about 2 percent of her 3,000 clients purchase insurance for their pets, but the number is increasing.

“It has been around for a while, but it seems to be come more to the forefront now as far as clients really considering it,” she said.

Schneider said insurance is especially helpful for pets with chronic conditions. For DeSantis, it covered antibiotics to take care of crystals in beagle Tommy’s bladder. It also paid for both dogs to be micro-chipped, a process that implants a chip under their skin so they can be more easily identified if they are lost.

But for Giovanna Palermo, insurance hasn’t given her the total peace of mind she hoped it would have.

She purchased Veterinary Pet Insurance for her Pomeranian, Angel, about 10 years ago. This year, she paid a premium of $699 plus a $50 deductible every time she goes to the vet. She said she doesn’t mind — anything for Angel.

“I love her like a little kid, she’s our little baby,” she said. “If something happened, I said ‘I have piece of mind that she’s covered.’”

Palermo said the insurance worked well until last December, when Angel started to get sick, and she didn’t know what was wrong with her. The MRI machine in Rochester, N.Y., was closed for the holidays, so Palermo brought Angel all the way to Albany, N.Y., for treatment.

“I didn’t want her to suffer,” she said. “In 24 hours, she was 23 hours in pain and one hour no.”

Angel is pain-free now, thanks to some medication — and a $3,000 price tag for vet bills. The MRI cost $1,000, and Palermo said she originally only received $225 back through insurance because the company said the treatment mostly wasn’t covered. She was considering canceling the insurance, but after a battle with the company, she got most of her money back.

“I got it, thank God,” she said. “Now if she breaks her leg or something I know she’s covered.”